Publications

This framework for evaluation of new immunodiagnostic tests for the detection of TB infection aims to promote and direct research by identifying standard study designs and evaluation protocols. As such it should facilitate their standardized evaluation and accelerate adoption into global and national policy and subsequent scale-up. The focus of this framework is on evaluation of diagnostic performance of tests for TB infection and provides guidance on study design, populations, reference standards, sample size calculation and data analysis. Additionally, it covers technical issues that should be considered when evaluating new tests for TB infection, evaluation of safety for skin tests, costs to the health system patients, preferred features and operational characteristics. The document is intended for test manufacturers, researchers, research funders, regulators, TB programme coordinators, civil society and other stakeholders.

Areas of Africa endemic for Buruli ulcer (BU), caused by Mycobacterium ulcerans, also have a high prevalence of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), with adult prevalence rates between 1% and 5%. However, there is limited information on the prevalence of BU–HIV coinfection. Preliminary evidence suggests that HIV infection may increase the risk of BU disease. In the Médecins Sans Frontières project in Akonolinga, Cameroon, HIV prevalence was approximately 3–6 times higher among BU patients than the regional estimated HIV prevalence. Similarly in Benin and Ghana, BU patients were 8 times and 3 times respectively more likely to have HIV infection than those without BU. Further study is needed to clarify this association and enhance knowledge about the prevalence of BU–HIV coinfection in endemic areas.

The purpose of this rapid assessment1 is to investigate the current status of multi-month dispensing (MMD) in 14 countries in the Asia-Pacific region of UNAIDS - Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, Fiji, India, Indonesia, Laos, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Papua New Guinea, Thailand and Vietnam. It aims to determine the current stages of MMD implementation, identify good practices, factors enabling successful MMD implementation as well as barriers and bottlenecks. It will also investigate MMD with regard to pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) in the two countries where PrEP programming is currently being implemented (Thailand and Vietnam).

This policy brief highlights key elements of the 2020 WHO consolidated HIV strategic information guidelines pertinent to HIV testing and treatment for children. It is designed to support country strategic information teams to choose, collect and systematically analyse the strategic information needed to strengthen programme management and monitoring of testing and treatment for children and adolescents.

The major causes of morbidity and mortality among children living with HIV in low- and middle-income countries are pneumonia (including Pneumocystis pneumonia), tuberculosis (TB), bloodstream infections, diarrhoeal disease and severe acute malnutrition. In addition, for adolescents living with HIV, adult-type opportunistic infections also occur, including cryptococcal meningitis. WHO published guidelines on the management of advanced HIV disease in 2017, promoting a package of interventions to prevent, identify and treat HIV-associated infections among people with advanced HIV disease. This publication builds on the 2017 guidelines and highlights existing WHO recommendations and implementation considerations that are relevant to the care of children and adolescents with advanced HIV disease. It is therefore not meant to be a comprehensive review of all severe comorbidities that affect children living with HIV. In addition, many of the interventions described here are also relevant for children and adolescents living with HIV who do not have advanced disease.

In April 2020, new directions in global guidance for HIV strategic information and treatment monitoring were updated. This technical update outlines the key developments with respect to recommended indicators and approaches and tools for monitoring antiretroviral drug toxicity with the purpose of strengthening country implementation and ensuring the safe use of antiretroviral drugs.

Supported by photos, data, infographics, and individual impact stories, the annual report highlights key achievements of the 18 active projects in 2019. It offers a snapshot of the impact the global pandemic caused by COVID-19 on grantees and the populations they serve, and the ways they are responding to it. Finally, it presents the results from its latest efforts to accelerate progress by fostering innovation and peer learning.

This governance guidance provides further detail on the standardized structure and processes used to validate the elimination of the mother-to-child transmission (EMTCT) of HIV and syphilis. This publication serves alongside and as a supplement to the Global guidance on the criteria and processes for validation: elimination of mother-to-child transmission of HIV and syphilis (global EMTCT guidance), the four country assessment tools on EMTCT of HIV and syphilis and the pre-assessment tool on EMTCT of HIV and syphilis and termed path to elimination (PTE). In the interim between the publication of this governance guidance in 2020 and the planned third edition of the global EMTCT guidance elimination of mother-to-child transmission of HIV and syphilis, the governance structures and processes in this publication serve as the most current methods to be applied to the country review and validation process.

Over the last three decades, scientific findings from a range of disciplines have converged. They prove that in the early years, we lay down critical elements for health, well-being and productivity, which last throughout childhood, adolescence and adulthood. Failure to meet a child’s needs during this critical period limits the child’s ability to achieve their full developmental potential and threatens the future of human capital and society in general.

Part of the ILO series on leaving no one behind in COVID-19 and the world of work, this brief describes the impact of the pandemic on people living with HIV and makes recommendations for a COVID-19 response and recovery in the world of work that is inclusive of people living with HIV.